Bullsh*t, exactly the opposite was true. When we won 8-0 we were told that it was meaningless, but now we've lost all of a sudden it's a cause for concern.
Reality is that results matter not one jot in pre-season.
I remember hearing someone say something about youth games that is similarly true for pre-season friendlies - it doesn't matter about winning or losing, it is more important that the players learn and improve.
I was unsure about him as captain as well, but by all accounts he is seen as the heart of the team by a lot of the players - one of them referred to him as "Mr Southampton" at one point last season - and as such I am more than happy for him to continue.
Why are we only questioning this valuation? Why was Lambert £1million and not £900k? What was the extra £100k for?
Why did we demand so much for Chamberlain, why couldn't it have been £500k less?
Cortese has always spoken about maximising revenue streams to keep the club in as healthy a position as possible, they might offer free travel to a few games but not for the whole season.
That's very convenient for you, isn't it.
Your "contact" is the biggest load of b*llocks ever by the way - and no, that's not an invite for you to copy and paste the list of exclusives you didn't break first.